An NCC freeze would speed up residential construction, some say. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Red tape and costs are plaguing the building industry, so the remedy considered at this week’s productivity talkfest in Canberra is freezing the National Construction Code and its proposed changes to building rules.
The move was pre-empted in a Treasury briefing and the Productivity Commission has also called for a review of the NCC. Commissioner Danielle Wood says regulatory hairballs are choking the system and pushing up costs.
Master Builders also blame the code and increasing construction rules for the higher cost of building homes, calling for a four-year pause on “non-essential” changes.
The opposition proposed a 10-year freeze at the federal election, which Labor ridiculed, but now it appears to have had a change of mind, although any pause it might impose would not be as drastic.
Labor, of course, is looking for ways to speed up the building of new homes to meet its ambitious targets to alleviate the housing crisis, making it susceptible to industry lobbying.
But what does the NCC actually do, and what does it mean for the people who have to live in these new homes?
The NCC is Australia’s primary set of technical design and construction provisions for buildings and is updated every three years.
It ensures that buildings are safe, sustainable, and meet the needs of the community. This year’s changes are aimed at enhancing building performance, safety and sustainability.
These include measures to improve the thermal performance of homes, including requirements for thermal breaks in steel-framed constructions and provisions for centralised heated water systems in apartments.
There are changes to cater for future electrification, including greater switchboard capacity, and for EV charging.
There are also measures to deal with mould, such as better roof ventilation, and water leaks through better waterproofing.
These don’t sound like non-essential changes. Cold, musty homes that promote mould constitute a significant health issue, and poor waterproofing is one of the most common complaints from occupants, especially in the medium and higher density developments, where most of the new dwellings will come from.
The electrification changes are in line with the energy transition, which the Albanese Government is supposed to support.
Not all industry players support a pause. The Australian Construction Industry Forum says maintaining the NCC updates at the current three-year cycles is critical.
The Australian Institute of Architects warns that halting NCC updates could jeopardise new building quality and safety, and questions whether it would achieve the aim of speeding up construction.
One can sympathise with builders who have had to deal with the COVID pandemic and its economic aftermath, but the NCC has played a critical role in modernising Australia’s housing stock and lifting standards, and there are still too many homes being built that are not energy efficient and costly to heat and cool.
There are still too many developments where occupants have to deal with defects that not only affect the enjoyment of their home but also make them unsafe. Again, it is homeowners who are often left with massive rectification costs.
Giving the industry a free pass would only condemn home buyers to properties that would be inferior to those that would have been built to NCC specifications.
It would simply be kicking the can down the road on measures that are needed now.
Pausing the NCC would also limit our ability to respond to an evolving environment, a changing climate and new technologies.
Speed is not a measure of productivity if it only results in homes that have to be rectified or retrofitted.
Yes, we need to build a lot more homes, but lowering standards is not the way to do it.
